AUSTIN, TX – In a chilling turn of events, Raul Meza Jr., a man suspected of multiple murders, surrendered to the police last May, stating, “I think you are looking for me.” Currently, he is being held in a Texas detention center, implicated in the strangulation death of Gloria Lofton, 65, in 2019, and the capital murder of Jesse Fraga, 80, a former probation officer, in 2023.
While Meza awaits trial, law enforcement is meticulously piecing together the puzzle of his alleged killing spree, which may encompass up to 10 additional homicides, as per the Austin police. The delayed justice in this case has been a source of frustration for former Austin Police Sgt. Bruce Mills.
63-year-old Meza is suspected of at least two murders, but law enforcement believes he could be linked to a minimum of 10 homicides within Texas. Recently, a search warrant was granted for Meza’s Google account, covering data from November 1, 2016, to May 29, 2023.
Investigators are optimistic that this digital trail will tie Meza to an unsolved 2018 murder in Austin and to at least two homicides in San Antonio. Meza’s criminal history dates back to 1982, involving the sexual assault and murder of an 8-year-old girl near an Austin school.
After serving 11 years of a 30-year sentence, Meza was released, but he violated his parole in 1994. He was incarcerated again and was released in 2002, remaining on parole until 2016.
One of the victims possibly linked to Meza is college student Nicole Coleman. Her naked body, bearing signs of trauma, was found in an Austin woodland in 2018. This unsolved case has haunted the city for years. Coleman was a high-achieving student with a bright future in writing and poetry, as per her family.